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Nuclear weapons are primarily defensive in nature and
represent the ultimate insurance against foreign invasion. This must be the
backdrop for the future of Trump-Kim meeting for which the expectations seem to
have been hastily heightened and not the much-exaggerated “historic” meeting
between the leaders of the two Koreas. No less “historic” meetings were already
held twice before––in 2000 and 2007––and the 1992 Joint Declaration for the
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula literally stated that “The South and
the North shall not test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy
or use nuclear weapons.” We are at the very beginning, not at the end, of a long road
that may lead to nuclear-free peace with North Korea, but quite realistically
may not. Even worse, with the exaggerated expectations now, the Trump
Administration has actually increased the risk of a large-scale conflict.

2016 was the year of the most missile tests conducted ever by North Korea, a total of 24. Since the beginning of 2017, the regime in Pyongyang had ratcheted up the tests, currently at 17, with the promise to reach a new all-time high, and surpass the last year’s record. The last test, conducted symbolically on the 4th of July, marked a new milestone by introducing an intercontinental capability to the Pyongyang’s ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a range that could reach Alaska and potentially Seattle. It is now believed that North Korea will soon be able to develop and mount miniaturized nuclear warheads to its ICBMs and become an even greater threat to its neighbors, and the United States. The urgency of the current developments, fast outpacing the expected timetable for acquiring such capabilities, has raised the stakes at Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, Moscow, and Beijing, prompting for fast new policies targeting the military belligerence of the rogue state. What are the main policy op…

North Korea tested a nuclear device this past Memorial Day weekend in attempt to call the US bluff. The Great Powers rushed to condemn the test, which was expected, and the UN's Security Council is expected to deliver a strong resolution against N. Korea. South Korea, frightened and frustrated, agreed to back the US plan to search N. Korea's boats for weapons. Pyongyang has warned that such a move would be considered an open declaration of war. Now South Korea must call the North's bluff.Â But the real victims of the Dear Leader's power game will be Russia and China, along with his tacit supporters. Conversely, he US actually stands to benefit from this escalation. Here is why.

Before looking at the implications of this new situation, and the possible ways to respond, we must address: a) why the escalation happened and b) why it happened now. There are at least two possible scenarios as to why Pyongyang tested the nuclear devices, and launched the missiles. The first…